As the public transport sector continues to adapt to the needs of today’s passengers, some rail users in Japan are about to get an intimacy upgrade, with private rooms to be added to upper class carriages on the country’s busiest line.
Diversifying needs of customers
The Tokaido line is also Japan’s oldest high speed rail line, launched in 1964 to connect three of Japan’s most populous metropolitan cities –Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Operated today by Central Japan Railway Company, also known as JR Central or JR Tokai, it remains Japan’s most used rail service, famous for its uncompromising punctuality, though it suffered a 17-minute delay in spring 2024 due to a snake being found on board.
Certain trains on the line are set to offer the new accommodation from 2026 “in order to meet the diversifying needs of customers due to changes in lifestyles and work styles,” said a press release from Japan Rail. It will be the first time the trains have had private rooms in 23 years; the last private rooms were discontinued in 2003.
Destined only for the so-called “green” or first-class carriages on N700S Shinkansen or bullet trains, there will be just two private rooms per departure available when the refurbed stock first rolls out – so not on every train initially. Ticket prices and information on how to reserve have not yet been made available.
Meet, enjoy privacy, relax
Echoing arguments made in Germany in favour of the transformable private spaces dubbed “smooch cabins” that have been inaugurated on Berlin’s ICE Intercity Express trains, Japan Rail has laid out a variety of use cases for the private rooms, such as “businesspeople who want to hold meetings online, customers who value privacy, and customers who want to relax without worrying about their surroundings.”
While the German version will have glass that frosts at the touch of a button, digital “occupied” signs, and fragranced cabins, the Japanese rooms will benefit from features including dimmable lights, adjustable air-con and volume control on conductor announcements, reclining seats, leg rests and Wi-Fi.
No loss of seats
Though the transformation of the trains will be achieved without the loss of any seating thanks to the use of former smoking cabins and spaces for food trolleys, some may argue that, on such a busy line, the additional space would be put to better use as general seating.
Time will only tell whether customers will enjoy the latest embodiment of their beloved Tokaido service. Opinions were divided in autumn 2023, when the Central Japan trains announced they were discontinuing their refreshment trolley, with the loss of its popular ice creams provoking an online outcry.
